


Road Trip from Hela (aka Ragnarok)

by Kizmet



Series: What If [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Anyone who's dead by the end of Ragnarok is fair game, BAMF Frigga (Marvel), Canonical Character Death, Gen, Sakaar (Marvel), Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-04 16:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16349717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kizmet/pseuds/Kizmet
Summary: Ragnarok without belated and gratuitous attempts to demonstrate that Loki would be incompetent as Asgard’s ruler.  Plus accumulated changes due to less family dysfunction in the earlier movies.





	1. Setting the Stage

**Author's Note:**

> The natural conclusion to Thor’s character arc is that he matures and takes the throne. Thor 1 introduces him as a vainglorious warmonger unfit to hold the throne and started fixing him. TDW shows Odin slipping, putting avenging Frigga’s death over Asgard’s safety and has Thor calling him on that. Thor is now a better king than Odin but… He’s not personally ready to take the throne yet, since he isn’t the overconfident fool of Thor 1 anymore (plus wanting to hang out with Jane). Ragnarok showing Thor fully mature and taking the throne is very fitting resolution to his character arc.
> 
> But Loki’s a stone in the shoe of that plot. In Thor 1 how he went about drawing attention to Thor’s unfitness to rule was highly questionable but it was TRUE that Thor was unfit. We also get a nice downward spiral for Loki as finding out that he’s one of the monsters he was raised to hate and the pressure of trying to rule with zero support erodes his mental stability. With help from Thanos/the Other, Loki’s mental state hits rock bottom in “Avengers”, and no one cares what might have happened him after his suicide attempt because he’s The Villain! (and Marvel hadn’t gone crazy with empathizing with villains yet so, unlike Vulture and Killmonger, no one in-verse acknowledges Loki’s circumstances… Moderation is not a thing in Marvel, it’s either all or nothing) Loki gets a redemption arc in TDW that puts Wanda’s to shame and sure he steals the throne at the end but we’ve got Thor stating “Loki, for all his grave imbalance, understood rule as I know I never will.” So we’ve got two movies suggesting that Loki’s more fit to rule than Thor. If he’s doing a good job as king in Ragnarok then the natural conclusion of Thor’s arc becomes sort of... well… Awkward: Thor’s ready now. Time to shove his younger brother, who has been doing the job for the last several years, out of the way. Ragnarok had to show that Loki as a bad king to justify Thor taking over, who cares if it’s ridiculous and out of character? Continuity wasn’t really a priority in Ragnarok.

“Gatekeeper!” Thor shouted as he slung Surtur’s crown over his shoulders. A moment later the Bifrost briefly lit the volcanic wasteland of Muspelheim and Thor was swept away.

He stepped out of the portal into a cluttered tangle of equipment that had been installed to mimic Heimdall’s natural abilities. Volstagg stepped back from a massive binocular apparatus and pushed away a winding ear-trumpet. “Thor! It is marvelous to see you back on Asgard!” he exclaimed. The heavy-set warrior took a few steps forward as if to pull Thor into a hug then hesitated.

After an uncomfortable moment, Thor completed the gesture. “Volstagg, my old friend. You are the Bifrost’s new -er- newest Guardian?” he asked.

“Aye, it seems I’ve regained a bit of favor with your parents these last few years,” Volstagg replied. Then he grinned wryly. “Either that or they believe the rumors that the position is cursed. But it keeps me close to home, close to my family, I’ve come to appreciate that.”

He lean around Thor to look at the massive skull-like crown strapped to Thor’s back. “That’s quite the trophy.”

“The Crown of Surtur, key to Ragnarok. With it safe in Asgard’s vaults…”

“Within feet of the Eternal Flame,” ‘Odin’ interrupted as he walked into the Observatory. “All the elements of Ragnarok will be conveniently assembled in one place. What were you thinking Thor? Bringing that thing here!”

“All-Father,” Thor said with a small bow as he covertly studied his father’s image, trying to determine if it was his brother or his mother beneath the seeming of Odin. Then what ‘Odin’ had said hit and Thor’s cheeks colored. “Well it seemed like a good idea at the time. Better than leaving it in Surtur’s hands, or -er- on his head.”

“Come with me, my son,” ‘Odin’ said and Thor jogged after him.

A pair of horses waited for them outside of the Observatory. ‘Odin’ cast as small spell to ensure their privacy as they rode across the Rainbow Bridge. “I was distracted,” Thor offered apologetically, still uncertain as to which family member he was speaking with. “By the way, word has begun to get out. Surtur was aware that Odin does not truly sit on the Throne of Asgard.”

“It must be expected,” ‘Odin’ replied. “The prophecies of Ragnarok, of Asgard’s fall, have existed before the Golden Realm rose to prominence. That there would be some who could read the signs was inevitable.” ‘Odin’ flexed his fingers, a nervous gesture Loki had picked up from Frigga as a boy, “Our current solution is not one that can be sustained much longer.”

“What’s happened?” Thor asked worriedly.

“I would rather speak of it in my own skin,” ‘Odin’ replied. “Wait until we are within the royal chambers.”

Thor nodded.

As they rode through the city they passed by several actors performing a melodramatic reenactment of the battle on Svartalfheim where Loki was commonly believed to have fallen. An actor portraying Odin delivered the final lines, “Loki, my boy… ‘Twas many moons ago I found you on that frostbitten battlefield. On that day, I did not yet see in you Asgard's savior. No. You were merely a little blue baby icicle that melted this old fool's heart.”

Thor wrinkled his nose, “A little over the top don’t you think?” he whispered. “Even I do not find this subtle.”

“Consider the audience,” ‘Odin’ replied. “Although I wonder if they would be as willing to embrace a Jotunn hero if they did not all -know- that Loki lays in a coma, with only slim chances of ever recovering.”

“I remember,” Thor said darkly. “And that it was due to Asgard’s prejudices that he was injured.”

They passed into the Asgard’s throne room and then through the private door that led to the royal apartments. With a shimmer of golden magic, Odin’s seeming fell away to reveal Frigga. “I sent for you and your brother nearly three cycles ago!” Frigga accused. “What kept you?”

“I was searching for knowledge of the Infinity Stones then stumbled across Surtur’s depravations,” Thor began then caught himself. “I apologize, Mother, for not taking your summons more seriously. What has happened in my absence?”

Frigga’s posture crumpled. “Your father… For some time I’ve been denying the warnings Healer Eir has given, I’ve told myself he only needed more time to fall properly into Odinsleep but-”

Thor stepped back shaking his head. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Frigga sighed, “Odin’s sleep is not restoring him, Thor. Your father is very old and these last few decades he put off Odinsleep as longer than he should have, as long as he possibly could. He’s dying. You and Loki should stay close to home. I think he may wake one last time before the end.”

“It’s our fault isn’t it,” Thor declared. “Loki and I, mostly I, are the reason father was unable to look after himself.”

Frigga shook her head, “Don’t think that way.”

“But it is the truth. If I had been more ready to take the throne Father could have entrusted Asgard to me and rested,” Thor insisted.

“We’re your parents Thor,” Frigga said quietly. “If you were not mature enough to take on the responsibilities of an adult at 1025 years of age then some of the blame lies on our shoulders. Beyond that, you were born quite late in Odin’s life. Your older sister was older than you are now the day you were born. She should have been the heir, and well into middle age today where you are in your first century of adulthood… If only she hadn’t gone mad with battle-lust. But,” Frigga sighed, “What is, is Thor. Dwelling on what might have been does us no good.”

“What do we do now Mother?” Thor asked.

“Go fetch your brother,” Frigga commanded. “I sent him to Midgard a few years ago; it did you good, I’d hoped Loki might also find good influences and friendships there. But now he’s ignoring me.”

Thor nodded, “I will return with all due haste Mother.”


	2. Family Matters

The Bifrost deposited Thor outside of the Avengers Compound. “Tony’s going to complain about Asgard messing up the landscaping again,” a slight teenager with light brown hair remarked.

“Who are you?” Thor demanded.

“Harley, currently one of the Young Avengers. As names go I think it’s pretty lame but still it has merit over Tony’s name for us.”

“And what’s that?” Thor asked encouragingly.

“Brats,” the kid said with a grin. 

“Ah,” Thor said nodding and smiling a bit blankly. “You… Wouldn’t happen to know were Lady Oili is? I was told she might be here?” 

“Lady Oili… Sure, right,” the kid chuckled. “On the East Wing roof. Watch out for stray spells, ‘she’s’ teaching and stray spells are incentivized if they happen to inconvenience our observer.”

“Nothing usual then,” Thor remarked and headed toward the building the boy had pointed to. A twirl of Mjolnir and Thor landed on the roof. A girl Thor vaguely recognized as one of the twins who had allied themselves with Ultron sat cross-legged weaving a spell between her hand. _‘Midgardian adolescence passes so quickly.’_

Another girl, dark-skinned with her hair arranged in an elaborate crown of braids sat nearby, surrounded by various equipment that she was using to scan Maximoff and her spell with. “I’m going to figure out your magic, watch me!” she declared.

On the other side of the roof a man in a red cloak and a woman in green Asgardian leathers argued. 

“Shouldn’t you have taught her to weave a portal first?” the man asked critically.

“You’re entire life is a teaspoon next to the ocean of time that I have spent studying magic,” the woman sneered. “You may call yourself a Master of the Mystic Arts but in truth you’re a gifted neophyte.”

“Brother!” Thor exclaimed.

The woman smoothed her dress pointedly and sighed. “And you wonder that I never chose to include you in my deceptions.”

“I thought your identity was an open secret. The child who greeted me certainly seemed aware.” Thor replied. Then he sighed, “Loki, this isn’t the time. Mother needs us at home.”

“I’m happy here,” Loki complained. “You were allowed all the time you wished to play the Midgardian hero.”

“It’s Father,” Thor interrupted.

Loki’s mouth hung open, conflicting and confused emotions stealing his voice.

As Loki stood there, at a loss, a boiling cloud of green and black appeared on the roof. A woman strode out of the portal. She looked around, her gaze focused on Thor and Loki. “So is he already gone or did I miss?”

“Mother warned me that this might happen soon,” Thor murmured to Loki as he stepped forward. “You must be Hela. I'm Thor, son of Odin.”

Loki turned toward Strange. “Take the children and go,” he said quietly. “The boys as well. Thor and I will try to confine the battle to the Compound.”

Hela’s eyes flicked over Thor. “Your mother’s blood runs dominant,” she said disapprovingly. 

“And what do you see in me?” Loki asked, trying to draw the woman’s attention away from Strange and the two girls. He allowed the form of Lady Oili to dissolve into his Jotunn form as he fell into a battle stance at Thor’s side.

“What?” Hela glanced from Thor to Loki in confusion. “Things have certainly changed while I’ve been gone.”

“Not as much as I would like,” Thor remarked.

“What do you see?” Loki repeated as he shifted once again, to his Aesir form. “I’m curious. Once Odin told me that he took me in because he saw his daughter in me.”

Hela studied Loki more closely, “Well, it’s not impossible,” she admitted. “There were times when I found myself well matched in battle and as the fight wore on we’d both realized that bloodshed wasn’t the satisfaction we sought. The seed took a few times.” 

Loki and Thor shared a cringe.

“Naturally, I transferred the ball of cells to a surrogate womb,” Hela continued. “Something so banal as reproduction could hardly be allowed to distract me from conquest.”

“With Laufey?” Loki demanded.

Hela thought back, a slow smile crossed her face. “I do remember Laufey. He was… vigorous.”

Strange decided she was distracted as she was going to get. He slipped on his sling ring. Sparks burned on the ground in a circle around Wanda and Shuri’s feet, then sputtered and went out. “What is she?” Strange exclaimed.

“Odin’s first daughter,” Thor explained quickly. “Even among a warrior people engaged in a war of conquest she was notorious for her brutality.”

“And since she was female no one questioned that she called on sedir as readily as a sword,” Loki added.

“You remember me,” Hela clapped her hands like a little girl. Then her voice turned cold. “Now, kneel before your queen.”

“Odin is king,” Loki declared flatly.

“Perhaps, for few days more,” Hela allowed. “A technicality, unless I decided to correct it personally before taking the throne. Kneel.”

“I bow to no one!” Wanda exclaimed, the red of her magic shining in her eyes and dancing around her fingers.

Hela took a step toward her when suddenly a boy in blue and red swung up over the edge of the roof he shot a rope of something sticky at Hela’s back. As he jerked her backwards like a fish on the line a blur darted across the roof and swept Hela’s legs out from under her. Wanda’s power exploded out of her in a cloud of pure force, the diametric opposite of the refined spell she’d been weaving earlier. It pinned Hela to the roof while Spider-Man layered more webbing on her.

Shuri grabbed up a pair of gauntlets and slipped them on, readying herself to fire if the others’ containment failed. A cloud of drones flew up from out of the Compound’s windows to target Hela as well.

Hela threw back her head and laughed. She flicked her wrists a a pair of swords materialized, slicing through the webbing. A shockwave of raw power shredded Wanda’s telekinetic hold. 

Strange stepped in front of the girl, his cloak flaring around him to absorb the backlash. “No!” Wanda screamed as Strange crumpled under the force of the attack. 

Before anyone could react Hela was in and among the cloud of drones, a whirlwind of destruction. Deep inside the compound two boys and an AI watched in dismay as their forces were demolished. Only a bare handful of shots were fired before all the drones were destroyed.

Pietro grabbed Shuri around the waist and yanked her back, evading Hela’s lunge by a hair. Shuri fired both gauntlets as Pietro twirled her around. Hela shrugged off the hit and smoothed back her hair, bringing forth her battle helm. “That stung,” she announced. “How shall I pay you back?”

“Does my infamous sister seek challenge from children?” Thor shouted.

Hela turned to face him. “They’ll do as a warm up,” she replied, unperturbed.

Spider-Man landed beside Loki. “FRIDAY contacted the team. They’re twenty minutes out. And that’s your mom?” He nodded to where Hela and Thor where sizing each other up.

“Apparently,” Loki said dryly. “Remember that Tony will never forgive me if I allow any harm to come to you or your friends, comport yourselves accordingly.”

Thor let his hammer fly. 

Hela vanished her swords and caught Mjolnir barehanded. “Mmm, a tasty morsel of Asgard’s power,” she purred. “This must be what drew me here.” 

Loki and Thor stared in shock as Hela held the vibrating hammer at bay. “How is that possible?” Thor breathed.

Hela shook her head “And I was wondering that you were still using a channel like this, at your age.”

Thor drew himself up huffily. “I-” Then he frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about? A channel?”

“So Odin didn’t teach you as he taught me?” Hela deduced. “He did grow timid in his old age didn’t he? ...I’m going to enjoy playing with you, my sheltered little half-brother.” Hela pulled Asgard’s power from Mjolnir into herself, turning the hammer brittle. It shattered under her grip.

Loki glanced from Mjolnir’s fragments to the four teens gathering themselves for another attack. A slight of hand and he was across the roof, leaving an image behind to hide his attack. He grabbed Hela from behind and glanced up at the sky. “Bring us back!” he shouted. “And be ready to battle.”

Thor, despite the shock of Mjolnir’s destruction was quick enough to throw himself into the Bifrost’s beam as well, and all three Asgardians were swept away.

* * *

At the Observatory Hela stepped out of the Bifrost alone. Volstagg, Frigga and a division of Asgard’s army were waiting. 

“Step-daughter,” Frigga said calmly raising her sword.

“Trophy,” Hela replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chronologically SM:H will come before this one but Ragnarok is on Netflix at the moment and I felt like it's been awhile since I've played with those characters. So I'm writing this one first but I do plan to go back and fill in some of the gaps with how the kid team comes to be with SM:H.


	3. Kingdom of the Mad

Thor found a quiet spot for himself in the ‘freaky circle’ hall where unwilling participants in the Grandmaster’s tournament of champions were kept and waited, not patiently. He’d seen Loki among the mad king’s courtiers and knew that his brother had seen him. Letting the Grandmaster natter on about his insane planet while Loki was only a few feet away making small talk hadn’t been easy but Thor liked to think that he had some sense of discretion. He also liked to think that he’d learned to do a better job of showing Loki that he was trusted and respected in the last few years.

Thor was about ready to give up patience for pacing around the circle and making himself crazy when Loki finally appeared. “Brother!” Thor exclaimed reaching out only for his hand to pass through Loki’s image. 

“I’ve gained a little trust from the Grandmaster, not enough to waltz into his dungeons and expect the door to be open when I try to leave,” Loki said. 

“How did you manage that? Can you get me out of here, get us home?” Thor asked. “We have to get home, Mother-”

“I know!” Loki exclaimed. “I know I set that mad woman straight to Mother and left her to deal with everything on her own! You don’t have to remind me! I just wanted to get her away from the kids but if anything happens to Mother it will be my fault.”

“You couldn’t have known we’d be thrown from the Bifrost,” Thor objected. “But... have you a means to get us back?”

“I’ve asked, all I hear is that no one leaves Sakaar,” it was a bitter admission. “Getting you out of here might be possible. It should go without saying but don’t trust the Grandmaster. He’s a liar, if you beat his champion he won’t let you go free, all you’ll win is the Champion’s place. The Grandmaster loves his tournament too much to allow you to simply walk away. You have a narrow path to walk, lose the fight but not your life. I might be able to claim a defeated contender as a boon.”

“How could you garner influence in that lunatic’s court so quickly?” Thor asked. “They said I was either food or a fighter and that woman, she brought me here as a toy for their Grandmaster’s amusement.”

“Yes,” Loki agreed. “The Grandmaster’s amusement is everything on Sakaar. You ask how I could gain position in an alien court? Ever since I cast away my Jotunn skin to win Odin’s mercy I’ve had a natural gift to reshape myself to survive.” He glanced away. “I tried to force Asgard to accept me, to value me while refusing to conform. And all I accomplished was to poison myself with bitterness as I was made to see that what I had to offer would never be what they wanted-” 

“Loki!” Thor protested, disquieted by what Loki was saying and the way his mind had seemed to have jumped tracks. 

“You and Mother accept me,” Loki admitted. “I’ve spent these last three years using Father’s guise to try to change Asgard’s prejudices and… They’re happy enough to give me what amounts to posthumous accolades but- I knew it was Father from Mother’s first summons. I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t want to be asked if to give an opinion on whether we should allow Father to die under as me to maintain the charade that Asgard’s throne is securely held or let it be know that he had died. You’re ready now Thor, Asgard longs for your return to them. But would we have told them that I unexpectedly recovered from my injuries on Svartalfheim and that a Jotunn would have their new king’s ear?” Loki shook his head, “No, if I didn’t wish to hamstring your rule I would have to take on a new face and allow Loki, Odin’s pet Jotunn to die in Asgard’s eyes.”

“You’re not- I wouldn’t have agreed to that,” Thor argued. 

“Mother and I would have persuaded you,” Loki said dismissively. “I’ve learned my lesson. Besides this is Sakaar, not Asgard. There is no space for pride here, survival is all that can be considered. Recognize that truth Thor, before your tantrums cease to amuse the Grandmaster. He can see through my illusions but it entertains him all the same to watch me try to determine what a mad man like him wants, to watch me try to twist myself into a shape I can only guess at and thus I am what he wants: A unique diversion. Everything here is a diversion.” 

“We can’t give up on getting home, Mother needs us,” Thor said, fighting to follow the twists in Loki’s mind.

Loki tugged at his hair in frustration. “Why is this so hard for you to understand? I don’t know how! I have no backup plan, no escape hatch! It’s all I can do to survive in this madhouse-“

Thor felt a cold chill, the last time Loki had felt trapped he’d let himself fall into the void, but he pasted a smile on. “We’ll take it one step at a time, Loki. You said lose to the Grandmaster’s champion?”

Loki choked back ‘And now I have to look out for you as well’ before he gave it voice. “Lose but don’t let him kill you,” he said instead. “I haven't seen this beloved champion he talks of, but I've heard he is astonishingly savage.”

* * *

Hela flung a bevy of swords at the group opposing her only to have them clatter harmlessly against the far wall after passing through Frigga’s illusions. 

She had no time for more than a brief look of confusion before Volstagg and the Einherjar unit were attacking her from the back. 

Hela spun and blocked Volstagg’s axe with her sword. It seemed, between his and his weapons’ sheer mass, that he should over power her but Hela’s arm didn’t shift a hair when Volstagg’s axe came down on her blade with all the force he could muster. Almost casually she pushed back and he went flying. But while her weapon was tangled with Volstagg’s two of the Einherjar attacked and Hela was forced to leap back to avoid their spears.

Behind the Einherjar, Frigga wove her magic. Strobing flashes of light and dark filled Hela’s vision, the clang of swords filled her ears but she spun and wove skillfully through the Einherjar fighting on instinct alone. 

“Witch,” Hela spat, blindly searching for Frigga, “More than two thousand years and you haven’t changed.” 

“Neither have you,” Frigga replied coolly. “But Asgard has, Odin did and that’s why you were locked away Step-daughter. Your time has passed.” 

Frigga threw a knife at Hela’s face. As it left her fingers it vanished, the air didn’t even ripple as it parted around the bespelled blade. At the first brush of metal, Hela jerked her head to the side and Frigga’s attack drew only a few drops of blood from her cheek. 

A half-dozen Einherjar attempted to dogpile Hela. “I thought you’d be happy to see me,” she pouted as she tossed them back. Two died from her blade, the rest from broken spines and shattered skulls as they struck the walls and ceiling. 

In the space created as they fell, Hela cocked her head to the side. She oriented herself by the feel of the Bifrost’s power washing over her skin then turned and ran toward the Rainbow Bridge. 

“We can’t let her into the city!” Frigga exclaimed. 

Volstagg staggered to his feet and planted himself with his axe, barring the door. Hela crashed directly into him, their weapons clanging like gongs, the floor around his feet cracked as he refused to be driven back. “Fine, be that way,” Hela said and ripped his heart out with her bare hand. 

She sprinted across the Rainbow Bridge, toward the City, toward the Palace and there was nothing Frigga could do but chase after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Frigga didn't die in TDW it would be a waste NOT to give her a past with Hela. 
> 
> There's extremely little reliable information about the timeline - Thor says Odin defeated Surtur "a half a million years ago", aka 500,000 years ago but that's obviously hyperbole as TDW establishes the Aesir life-span as being roughly **5000** years. Bor's war against Malekith and the Dark Elves also happened roughly 5000 years before TDW. Hela and Odin haven't begun their war of conquest yet. Odin's probably a small child or soon to be born, given the Aesir lifespan, and Hela, obviously, has not been born yet... Unless Odin's life-span is abnormal by Aesir standards but his absence in the Bor's battle against Malekith suggests the opposite. 
> 
> So this is my timeline: The Dark Elves are defeated by Bor 5000 years ago, Odin is born in the same time frame. Odin defeats Surtur and subdues Muspelheim while he's still Prince. Hela is born when Odin's relatively young, less than a 1000. Hela's mother is out of the picture shortly after Hela's birth. Odin ascends to the throne at around the same age Thor would have in Thor 1 (if not for complications), at around 1000. Hela is already his 'executioner' their war of conquest is already underway, having started while Odin was Prince under Bor's rule. 
> 
> Vanaheim is falls to Asgard when Odin is around 3000. Frigga, who is younger, marries Odin to secure her people's future but they eventually fall in love. Odin and Hela's falling out happens around 1000 years ago during Asgard's last great war, against Jotunheim. Odin continues the war without Hela's influence, Thor is born, Loki is born, Odin offers Laufey a treaty to end the war.


	4. Reunions, Confrontations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since no one in "Ragnarok" really has a functioning brain to mouth filter. It's turning out all my changes are ones generated as a result of the changes to earlier movies.

The stadium was packed with roaring crowds. Over the noise the Grandmaster’s voice rang out, “Wow! Look at all of you. What a show! What a night! Who's having fun? Please, I'm your host. Big round of applause for all of our undercard competitors, who today died so gruesomely. Good sports. What a show! What a night! This is what you've come for, and so have I. And now, without further ado, it's main event time. Making his first appearance, though he looks quite promising, got a couple of tricks up his sleeve. I'll say no more, see what you think. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Lord of Thunder. Watch out for his fingers. They make sparks.” 

The audience’s reaction was underwhelming. Unwillingly, Thor felt slightly hurt, crowds in Asgard and Midgard always cheered him. _‘This is ridiculous, it’s not like I WANT to take part in their stupid gladiatorial competition.’_

“Okay, this is it,” the Grandmaster continued, lowering his voice to build anticipation. “Let's get ready to welcome this guy. Here he comes. He is a creature. What can we say about him? Well, he's unique. There's none like him. I feel a special connection with him. He's undefeated. He's the reigning. He's the defending. Ladies and gentlemen... I give you... Your Incredible…” 

The Hulk burst into the stadium gleefully soaking in the crowd’s adulation. 

“Yes!!!” Thor shouted in delight. 

For a moment the crowd went silent. A contender who did anything but wet their pants when they got their first glimpse of what they were up against was not normal, even by Sakaarian standards. 

In the Grandmaster’s private box Loki was caught between sharing Thor’s relief and wariness. When Loki had met Banner the man had been uncomfortably perceptive but kind. Barton’s descriptions of the Hulk while compelled to embrace Thanos’ purpose had made the Beast sound like an uncontrollable force of destruction. Loki didn’t have much first hand with the man’s fearsome alter ego.

The Grandmaster turned to Loki and asked, “So you like them crazy or is it just a physical attraction? Because anyone who is happy to be facing my champion is crazy. And coming from me that’s saying a lot.” 

“Perhaps I just have a thing for care-taking,” Loki replied. “Obviously a given need for anyone who faces your champion.” “Anyone who survives your champion will need a lot.”

“That’s a bald faced lie if I ever heard one,” the Grandmaster remarked. He put a knuckle to his lips, “But I’ll forgive you- This time. I love a good puzzle. And why you would spend the favor you’ve accumulated for that one? Now that’s a brain-teaser.” 

Down below Thor waved cheerfully to the Hulk, “Hey!!” Then he turned to the crowd and explained, “We know each other. Were part of a team on this quaint little realm know as Midgard, saved the planet together a few times. You know, classic bonding experiences if you’re a hero.”

“So… Do you know my beloved champion too?” the Grandmaster asked Loki.

Loki smiled tightly and tried to decide on which lie would get him further.

“Where have you been?” Thor asked the Hulk. “Everybody thought you were dead. But so much has happened since I last saw you. I lost my hammer. Like, yesterday, so that's still pretty fresh. Loki. Er, did I ever mention that Loki didn’t really die? Oh, wait- Could you not say anything about Loki being my brother? Please? I’m not sure exactly what story he’s spinning so the less said the better. You understand? Or maybe you don’t, not having a little brother- or more specifically my little brother. Oh, Banner, I never thought I would say this, but I... I'm happy to see you.”

“Hulk! Hulk! Hulk!” the audience chanted and Hulk turned and raised his fists to incite the crowd further. 

“Banner. Hey, Banner!” Thor called.

“No Banner. Only Hulk,” the Hulk snarled before charging. 

Thor tried several more times to remind Hulk that they were allies or to reach Bruce Banner all to no effect before losing patience. “All right. Screw it!” he exclaimed. “I know you're in there, Banner. I'll get you out! What's the matter with you? You're embarrassing me! I told them we were friends!”

Loki shut his eyes and dropped his head into his hands as Thor totally forgot that he was supposed to throw the fight and went all out. “I should have known better, my brother keep his pride in check?” he muttered to himself. “Thor couldn’t manage it when we were trespassing in Jotunheim, surrounded by Frost Giants half a decade ago. Why did I fool myself into thinking that he might have improved in so short a time?”

Down in the arena the ‘sparks’ Thor had been letting off when upset had turned into a full-fledged lightning storm, event without Mjolnir to channel the power. 

As the tide of the battle began to shift, the flickle audience changed their chant, “Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!” Until the Grandmaster started pouting and triggered the obedience disk on Thor’s neck, knocking him cold.

* * *

Hela tore through the ranks of Asgard’s soldiers, moving too fast to allow them to bring their numbers to bare against her. Once in the Palace she made use of secret passages know only to the Royal Family to bypass most of the security before the vault. She turned the last corner and pulled up short at the sight of Odin barring her way.

“So you aren’t dead yet old man?” Hela smiled predatorially.

“Not quite yet, daughter,” Odin replied. “I’m sorry for what I did to you.”

“Locking me up?” Hela scoffed. “Apologizing, you have gone soft.”

“Raising you to be a monster,” Odin replied. “Death in childbirth is extremely uncommon but it happened to your mother and I was angry, too angry and too young to see what I was doing to you. I brought you with me to the battlefield before you could even walk because I desired an outlet for my rage.”

“Mmm, the smell of blood and the clang of weapons are my earliest memories,” Hela reminisced. “I was barely more than a toddler when I found an injured adversary trying to crawl off the battlefield and made my first kill.”

Odin looked at her sadly. “You raged against the Universe and proved your existence to it by cutting a bloody swath across the stars because that was the example I gave to you. As time cooled my anger…” He sighed and shook his head. “I had an army hungry for further conquest and a daughter with nothing but blood lust in her heart. Gradually I turned my army from simply conquering whatever lay in front of us to building an empire. But you, I had- I still have no idea how to fill the void I left in your soul when I raised you to be nothing more than my executioner.”

“There is no void in me,” Hela sneered. “I saw you found one of my cast offs. He uses the same tricks as your Vanir Witch and your son… A thousand years old and still little more than a spoiled child.”

“Thor is a blooded warrior.”

“A few drips maybe, I’ve bathed it,” Hela replied. “You who were at my side, tell me you don’t see the difference.”

“I see the difference,” Odin said. “Thor and Loki, they can see the value in life, you can’t. The lack in you is so profound you can’t even begin to understand what you’re missing. And I am sorry, Hela, for everything I’ve done to you.” He let his cape fall back to reveal that he was holding the Tesseract, it throbbed with power. 

Hela threw herself to one side and only took a glancing blow but the beam that had erupted from the Tesseract ripped her arm away and took it elsewhere. She twisted her remaining wrist and a war hammer appeared in it. Before Odin could gather his remaining strength for a second blast Hela drove the spiked end of the hammer deep into his chest. 

As Odin died, Hela smirked, “I’m glad I got the chance to do that.” Then she wrenched the spike free and turned to the vault door. 

Several well-aimed strikes and the massive doors of the vault hung crookedly from shattered hinges. Hela walked inside. “Fake,” she said, knocking the Infinity Gauntlet from its stand in the vault. “Most of the stuff in here is fake. Or weak.” She glanced at the crown Thor had won from Surtur, “What idiot put this in here?” But truly she only had eyes for one thing: A chalice of flame “The Eternal Flame,” she breathed and gathered a handful of it. 

Taking her warhammer, Hela broken into an ancient crypt beneath the vault where Asgard’s fallen soldiers had been laid to rest in her her time. She gasped at the sight of a massive wolf in the tomb, bound in heavy chains, clearly buried alive and left to starve to death. “Fenris, my darling, what have they done to you?” Hela cried. 

She slammed the flame into the floor of the tomb and it spread across the vast cavern. “With the Eternal Flame, you are reborn!” she declared. 

The giant wolf rose, the chains slipped off it’s skeltal form as it went to Hela and nuzzled her. 

“I've missed you,” Hela said. scratching behind the beast’s ears. She turned to include all of her ghoulish army. “I've missed you all.”

* * *

On Sakaar Thor woke up to find himself being bandaged. Remembering the plan, he expected Loki’s competent, practiced hands tending his wounds and Loki’s sharp tongue tearing his ego to shreds. But the medic was a silent stranger and when he glance across the room Thor saw the Hulk soaking in an oversized tub. “Are we cool?” he asked remembering the fight, then started to babble. “It's Hulk in a hot tub. So how long have you been like that?”

Hulk scowled at Thor. “Puny god NOT Hulk’s friend,” the behemoth declared as he got out of the tub.

“That's naked. He's very naked. It's in my brain now.” Thor declared. “And I think there’s something in the air on this benighted planet that turns me into an idiot. Because of course I’ve seen you naked before. What Avenger hasn’t? It’s always hit or miss if any of Banner’s clothing would survive the transformation.” Thor took a step back as Hulk stalked across the room to tower over him. “How’d you get here?”

“Tinman is Hulk’s friend,” Hulk stated. He wrapped a massive hand around Thor’s neck. “Puny God HURT Tinman… Hurt when Tinman not Tinman.” Hulk didn’t lift or squeeze but Thor still got the point. “Banner not let Hulk out then… Hulk out now.”

“I apologized for that!” Thor exclaimed. “Ages ago. And I have good reason to believe that Tony accepted my apology. It’s all been resolved. Colonel Rhodes reprimanded me for my actions. Jane threatened me with a repulsor-” 

Hulk snorted. “Star Girl not like Puny God anymore. Star Girl smart girl.”

Thor pried Hulk’s fingers off his neck and glared. “Yes, Jane dumped me and I deserved it. And it was probably for the best anyway given our relative lifespans. But don’t rub it in. There’s no one to cheat for you here if we go for round two.”

“Hmph,” Hulk huffed. 

“The crux of the matter is I apologized and offered amends and Tony accepted my offering. This is old news, we’re all good… Although with you being missing since before the apology part, I suppose I can understand why you’re still upset.” Thor took a deep breath. “I behaved abominably. I could have killed Tony by accident, I know that and I deeply regret that I ever acted in such a way against a teammate. Of course we might also discuss what happened in that area earlier today. I tried not to fight you-”

“Hulk says ‘No’ when Big Crazy thumbs down,” Hulk defended himself. 

Thor looked startled at the thought that he could have been killed while he was unconscious. “Well, er, I appreciate that.” 

Hulk sighed deeply, “Hulk lied. Hulk mad. But Thor still friend.” 

The two of them were silent for a moment. Then, quietly, Thor said, “I have to get home. We must prevent Ragnarok. My father may already be dead. My mother has but few to depend upon but she’ll fight. Loki and I brought this fight on her, on Asgard.”

“Ragnarok?” Hulk asked.

“The prophesied death of my home world. The end of days, it's the end of… Please, I need your help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep thinking I should do something with Heimdall, whom I left locked in Asgard’s dungeon at the end of TDW, but I’d rather let Frigga be the primary focus of the battle on Asgard.
> 
> Odin not getting a last moment with Thor and Loki: Even though their relationship with him is less messed up than in canon (100x on Loki’s part) it’s still going to be worse for them that they didn’t get that moment. I’m tempted to include Odin in Hela’s army of risen dead… because it would just be evil to make Thor and Loki fight his zombified corpse. 
> 
> Which brings to mind another continuity oddity. In TDW Frigga and the others who died against the Dark Elf invasion dissolve into golden lights during, or because of, the Viking Funeral ceremony. In Ragnarok Odin spontaneously dissolves into golden lights upon his death... And in the same movie there’s a crypt beneath the Golden Palace full of rotting bodies. If the Viking Funeral is a new thing that Asgard adopted after Hela’s time which CAUSES the light display that’s fine and dandy but how does Odin’s spontaneous dissolution fit into this picture?


	5. Loki’s Day

“Hulk! Hulk! Hulk!” the ever flexible audience chanted as Thor spasmed and collapsed under the influence of the obedience disk.

The Grandmaster turned and smirked at Loki. He held up his hand thumb parallel to the ground and cocked an eyebrow as the audience’s excitement reached a fevered pitch. “Do you still want to play it coy?” he asked. “Coming to me all nonchalant and looking for a bargain?”

Loki’s knees bruised as he hit the ground at the Grandmaster’s feet. “Whatever you like want, whatever I have. Don’t kill him, please.”

“Oh, desperate is a good look on you,” the Grandmaster chuckled. “Now you’ve been keeping things from me sweetie. Why’s he so important to you? And should I be jealous?”

“He’s my brother,” Loki said. 

“You don’t look it,” the Grandmaster observed. “I mean day and night here.”

“It’s complicated,” Loki said. “But I’ll answer every question. Just, please, don’t kill him, he’s my family.”

The Grandmaster lean forward to put two fingers under Loki’s chin, tilting his face up. “Your mouth says ‘anything’ but your eyes say that you’ve already thought of at least twelve different ways of weaseling out of it.”

“If you have him you have me.” 

“But what if I just want to watch you break?” the Grandmaster asked. “You’re not terribly important in my grand scheme and I’ve always been a fan of instant gratification.” He turned his thumb down. “Watching pretty things break is a guilty pleasure of mine.”

Loki shook his head in simple denial, “You can’t, he’s Thor.”

Topaz stepped forward raising her staff in preparation for whatever Loki might do once the sentence was carried out.

Then, down below in the arena, Hulk set his axe down. “No,” he stated.

“What?” the Grandmaster asked. He left Loki behind to lean over the railing and glare down at Hulk. He took a moment to dig at the wax in his ear. “Did I hear right? Did you tell me ‘no’?”

“Yes,” Hulk said.

“Now that’s more like it,” the Grandmaster said.

Hulk picked up Thor and slung him over his shoulder. “Yes, Hulk no kill,” he clarified.

“What is it with this Thunder guy?” the Grandmaster asked.

“Well, nice abdominals, mighty biceps,” Topaz craned her neck a bit. “Ass isn’t half bad either.”

“It was a rhetorical question.” the Grandmaster said. “I have eyes you know. And okay, he’s got nice muscles… Not dying over nice, if you know what I mean, but nice.”

“Oh, my bad,” Topaz replied. 

“And yet here we are. My champion won’t kill him.” The Grandmaster glanced at Loki, “My newest instigator of court intrigue is on his knees for him. Even you, Topaz are think about getting him in your bed. Does he sweat aphrodisiacs?”

“More aesthetic appreciation,” Topaz said.

“I don’t want to sleep with my brother,” Loki said, his expression screwing up with distaste.

“Right… Brother. And it’s complicated,” The Grandmaster insinuated.

Loki just looked pained.

The Grandmaster raised his voice, “Champion, are you turning diva on me?”

“Yes.” Hulk tossed over his shoulder as he carted Thor back towards the hole he’d knocked in the arena wall when he came in.

“We don’t have an obedience disk on him,” Topaz remarked, sotto voce.

Loki twisted his hand and a knife slipped out of his sleeve.

“That could make things messy,” the Grandmaster sighed. He stared pointedly at Loki’s hand and the hidden knife. “And this one really is ready to die over it. You know, Trouble, I had you pegged as the loyal only to yourself sort.”

“I’m not immune to sentiment,” Loki said, letting the blade show in a naked threat. “Are we going to make things… messy? Over one deposed prince? You have dozens like him here but Thor is MY only brother, he is your champion’s teammate. His life may be cheap to you but we will do everything in our power to make you pay if you take it.” 

The Grandmaster raised his voice again, “Oh, okay. I’ll be indulgent today.” He glowered at Hulk. “But you brought him home, you have to promise to feed and water him.”

The Hulk snorted in amusement. He waved his free hand in careless agreement then ducked out of the arena. 

Once the behemoth had disappeared along with Thor, Loki slumped against floor of the Grandmaster’s private box. “Will you punish me now or later?” he asked.

The Grandmaster laughed. “That’s why I like you, Trouble. You’re so perceptive.”

* * *

There were no stars visible in Sakaar’s night-time sky. The light from the gateways overwhelmed them, painting the sky in an ever-changing neon swirl, never allowing the planet to sink into more than a twilight. 

Loki leaned his forehead against a window, high in the upper reaches of the Grandmaster’s palace. For several minutes he allowed the coldness of the glass to soothe him then combed his hair back from his face with his fingers and put on a collected expression. He inscribed a circle with his fingers on the darkened glass, “Mother?” he called quietly.

After a moment, Loki’s reflection shimmered and was replaced with Frigga’s. “Loki,” Frigga said warmly. “Your warning was timely.”

“We were lucky I fell backward in time when I was thrown from the Bifrost,” Loki replied. “Mother, Thor is here as well.”

“Thank the Norms,” Frigga breathed. “When Hela came through the Bifrost alone I feared the worst.”

“Is- is she dealt with?” 

Frigga shook her head. “I let myself forget what it’s like to fight against her,” she admitted. “I underestimated her. We weren’t able to prevent her from raising her army but we held them in the Palace long enough to evacuate most of the civilian population to Vanaheim.”

“And you didn’t go with them?”

“Don’t try to scold me my son,” Frigga said. “I can’t leave her to run unchecked. I’ve pulled what’s left of Asgard’s army back into the mountains. Direct combat against Hela has never gone well for her adversary but Vanaheim held out against both her and your father for several centuries using guerilla tactics.”

“Guerilla tactics and the Einherjar haven’t rebelled?” Loki said dryly. “I’m shocked.”

“Not after our efforts to barricade her inside the palace,” Frigga replied, the exhaustion in her voice killed the bitterness in Loki’s eyes. She wove a spell with a few deft movements and Loki saw the bodies of Asgard’s soldiers marking Hela’s path to the Vaults. He saw the Einherjar, under Frigga’s furious direction, collapsing the Golden Palace on top of Hela, sealing her and her zombie army in the vaults. He saw the rubble from the Palace exploding outward and the Einherjar falling by the score as they battled to hold the bottleneck formed by the single stair out of the vault. He saw lines of Asgard’s citizens filing across the Rainbow Bridge. He saw Hela’s massive wolf ripping through Asgard’s forces, the zombies boiling up after it. He saw Hela swagger out of the palace ruins, on to Asgard’s main causeway. “We retreated into a mountain stronghold along with Bifrost Sword and the population we were unable to evacuate rather than allowing her to corner us in the Observatory.” 

“Because none of you have Mjolnir’s raw power or my ability to walk between worlds without the Bifrost” Loki realized. “You cannot remove the Bifrost Sword via the Bifrost. If she cornered you there it would only be a matter of time before she had control of the Bifrost and could follow after you.”

Frigga nodded. “I suppose the Gatekeeper could have taken the sword and leapt into the void with it when the danger of being overwhelmed was too great,” she admitted. “But I’m not ready to cede the field yet.”

“I’ve never know you to be bloodthirsty, mother,” Loki remarked.

“You have only known me a fraction of my life,” Frigga said. Then she sighed. “At my estimate there would have been nearly three hundred citizens caught on the bridge when Hela reached it. They would have been slaughtered. I decided to gamble with the lives of the additional hundred and fifty I could have evacuated had I gone the route of throwing the Sword into the void.”

“Four hundred and fifty civilians left on Asgard,” Loki said. “How much of the army is left?”

“A hundred and eight-four. Those who stood their ground and held her in the vaults while the evacuation was underway more than earned their passage into Valhalla,” Frigga said.

Loki looked shocked as he considered the size of the standing army stationed on Asgard. “Nearly a thousand of Asgard’s Warriors dead in-”

“In four hours,” Frigga confirmed tiredly.

“I’ve sought a means to return,” Loki said apologetically. “Leaving Sakaar is not hard but knowing where you’re leaving to? Impossible. And if there is one consistently delivered message on this madhouse of a planet it is that you could always be somewhere even worse. But we- Well, to be honest, Thor won’t give up.”

“And where he goes, you follow,” Frigga said. 

Loki smiled wryly. “Someone has to be there to tell him he’s an idiot and bound to get us all killed.” 

Frigga smiled. A stray reflection illuminated the glass and her image vanished.

* * *

Loki took a moment to look Scrapper 142 over, his eyes lingering on the Valkyrie tattoo adorning forearm, before he sat down at the bar beside her. He called the bartender over and pointed to the largest flagon in the mismatched array of dishware stacked behind the bar. “Fill that with something potent for the lady,” he ordered.

Scrapper 142 waited until the drink was delivered and took a long swallow. “Not interested,” she said

“All I want is information. Not too much to ask, given that we’re both swore to Asgard’s throne,” Loki said pitching his voice low. 

“Your brother already tried that approach to recruit me.” Scrapper 142 snarled. “I’ll tell you what I told him: This is Sakaar, not Asgard,” 

“Valkyrie,” Loki said letting his gaze weight heavy on her tattoo. “I’m not asking that you go back and face Hela again. All I ask is for a moment of your time. A hint as to how I could return to face her before all our people are dead. You’ve been here a long time, surely you have some idea of which gateway would lead me home.”

“If Hela's back, then Asgard's already lost,” the former Valkyrie said.

“I know,” Loki said. “But Queen Frigga is still fighting to save our people, if she can. The bulk of the population has already been evacuated but the path behind them must be closed or their current safety is a false promise. A few hundred remained trapped on Asgard with the remnants of their defenders, Prince Thor and I need to go back and do whatever we can.”

“Frigga?” the former Valkyrie asked, startled. “I thought all the fight had been beaten out of her before she agreed to take Odin as her husband… And why would she ever fight _for_ Asgard?”

Loki shrugged, “Two thousand years of marriage and two kids? Frankly, I’m too young to remember a time when there were tensions between the Aesir and Vanir. So I suppose Odin loved her enough to treat Vanheim well and in return Frigga took Asgard as her own.”

The former Valkyrie scowled. “I'm not getting dragged into another one of Odin's family squabbles. That's what's wrong with Asgard. The throne, the secrets, the whole golden sham.”

“I’m not asking you to.” Loki spread his hands helplessly, “Given that I _am_ one of Odin’s secrets, I certainly won’t argue with you about what is wrong with our home but at the same time I am also part of the family. My biological mother and the mother who raised me are trying to kill each other, this isn’t a fight I can turn my back on. What would it cost you to tell me how to leave?” 

“Look, I came to Sakaar to drink and forget, and to die one day. I never bothered to figure out how to get back to the place I was trying forget even existed,” Valkyrie said. “I can’t help you.” She tipped the flagon up. “But thanks for the drink.”

A dark look crossed Loki’s face, “You came to forget? What painful memories you must have since, somehow, you survived when I heard that every last Valkyrie had died gruesome deaths in battle against Hela the last time she tried to escape.”

Valkyrie jumped to her feet and grabbed Loki angrily, “You little shit-” she broke off as Loki’s vindictive spell threw her into the depths of her memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're told time runs weird on Sakaar. So I'm going to assume that Loki arriving weeks before Thor gave him time to reach out to Frigga and warn before Hela arrived in Asgard.


	6. Exit Plans

Shortly after stealing the controller for the obedience disk that had imprisoned him, Thor quietly escaped the Hulk’s rooms and made his way across the city to the Quinjet that had brought the Hulk to Sakaar. He had hopes that even if the Valkyrie refused to help him, she would keep silent about him but it wasn’t something he wanted to put to a lengthy test.

It took Thor several hours more than a few wrong turns to make his way through the trash-heap of a city to the crash site. “I’ll just make sure it flies then I’ll go back and get Loki and we’ll make our escape… Somehow,” Thor muttered to himself as he tried the Quinjet’s computer.

“Welcome,” the computer said. “Voice activation required.”

“Thor.”

“Access denied.”

“Thor, son of Odin.”

“Access denied.”

“God of Thunder.”

“Access denied.”

 Thor smirked, “Strongest Avenger,” he tried.

“Access denied.”

“Strongest Avenger.”

“Access denied.”

Thor shook his head and grimaced. “Damn you Stark, Point Break.”

“Welcome, Point Break,” the computer replied.

For a moment Thor could almost hear Tony snickering at having forced him to use his ridiculous nickname. Then he remember why the Hulk had been angry with him and Thor’s expression turned pensive. “Would you still play with me thus?” he wondered.

“Thor stupid!”

Thor spun around and saw the Hulk standing on the ramp, arms crossed disapprovingly.

“I am not stupid!” Thor exclaimed. “You’re stupid.”

“Hmph,” Hulk replied. “Baby… and stupid.”

“You said you wanted to stay here,” Thor huffed. “So why don’t you just stay here and leave me to go about my way. I have a planet to save.”

“Stay!” Hulk ordered. “No take quinjet.”

“I can’t stay. I have to get back to Asgard.”

“Quinjet bad!” Hulk announced.

“No, it’s a bit battered but I think it’s working,” Thor assured him.

“Quinjet no good.”

“Yes it is.”

“No!”

“Yes.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Arrgh!” Hulk exclaimed. “Banner! Need Banner. Thor too stupid.” Moments later a naked Biophysicist crouched in the Hulk’s place. “Why do I feel an intense urge to explain jet propulsion to you?” Bruce Banner asked Thor.

“Jet propulsion?” Thor frowned thoughtfully then he pointed through the window toward one of the portals dotting Sakaar’s skies. Would it have anything to do with why the Quinjet wouldn’t be good to fly through one of those?”

“What’s on the other side?” Bruce asked.

“Hopefully Asgard but really it could let out practically anywhere in space,” Thor said.

“The quinjet isn’t a spaceship!” Bruce explained. “It’s a jet, with vertical takeoff capability but still a jet… The engine won’t work outside of an atmosphere, oxygen atmosphere.”

“Really?” Thor asked. “How primitive.”

Bruce blinked a few times then asked, “What happened to your hair?”

“Some creepy old man cut it off,” Thor explained

“I don’t want to know,” Bruce replied. “It looks different- Good, but different. On a scale of one to ten, how upset is Betty about me vanishing on her, again?”

“I haven’t seen much of the Avengers since Sokovia,” Thor admitted. “My temper cost me a number of friends. You might ask Loki. Still, I remember more concern than upset, it wasn’t your choice was it?”

“Not so much, no. And Loki?” Bruce asked.

“I believe he’s taken the young Ms. Maximoff as a student,” Thor said.

“He’s teaching her how to take over the world?” Bruce’s voice rose an octave. “I thought he was under duress during the whole invasion thing.”

Thor scowled. “He was! The Maximoff twins turned over a new leaf after their capture. He’s teaching Ms. Maximoff not to allow her powers to be at the mercy of her emotions.”

“Sorry, my bad,” Bruce said. “After Johannesburg that girl isn’t exactly on my Christmas card list.”

“I can understand that,” Thor said. “But it’s been a few years and I hear good things about the progress she and her brother have made.”

“A few years?” Bruce asked. “I've been Hulk for a few years?”

“Two,” Thor corrected. “Just two years.”

“Two years?!?” Bruce exclaimed. “What the hell happened?”

“Banner, there's something you should know,” Thor began.

Bruce leaned past him to start the computer. “Voice activation required.”

“Banner.”

“Welcome, strongest Avenger,” the computer said.

“Did I offend Stark before the strangulation incident or did he find time to reprogram it during our battle against Ultron?” Thor wondered.

“Thor, where are we?” Bruce asked.

“Sakaar, hear ye,” the Grandmaster’s voice boomed out over a city wide PA system. “Attention please. I have some bad news. My beloved exalted champion has turned up missing. Take to the streets. Celebrate my champion.”

“Who's that?” Bruce asked.

“He kind of runs the place. You actually lived at his house for awhile,” Thor replied.

“It seems that that criminally seductive Lord of Thunder has stolen him away,” the Grandmaster continued.

“Seductive _God_ of Thunder,” Thor complained. “We have to find my brother,” Thor said. “And a ship that is less limited.”

“Without anyone noticing the criminally _seductive_ Lord of Thunder skulking around?” Bruce asked. “What _have_ you been doing here?”

“I’m not the one who is currently naked,” Thor remarked as he turned to dig through a storage unit. “Put these on,” he said emerging with a bundle of clothing.

“These are Tony's clothes,” Bruce said. “Why did we stock the Quinjet with extra clothes for Tony? He’s not the one who loses his clothes every time he goes into combat.”

“Well, true,” Thor agreed. “But you remember his… um…. what did he call her? P-R person and Lady Pepper insisting that he wear a suit not the suit for after-battle interviews? She said it... sent a better message?”

“Oh yeah,” Bruce said. “Tony said the undersuit was fine, Pepper said it wasn’t. Then… Was it that night? We got called out in the middle of the night... Pepper really shouldn’t have said ‘I told you so’.”

“Friend Stark does not sleep in much,” Thor recalled.

“No he does not,” Bruce agreed.

 

* * *

 

 

Several hours later Thor and Bruce found themselves following Valkyrie through one of the Palace’s lower doors, half buried beneath an accumulation of trash and forgotten. “Not that I’m not appreciative but I thought you didn’t care?” Thor asked.

Valkyrie shrugged. “I talked to your brother.”

“Silver-tongue,” Thor whispered to Bruce.

“My bet is you only heard the sanitized version of Asgard’s subjugation of Vanheim,” Valkyrie continued. “The two armies met on a plain outside of the capitol, ya-da ya-da. After three days of fighting Hela offered challenge to your grandfather. A chance to end the slaughter and avoid defeat, he really had no choice but to accept.”

“Yes, I have been informed,” Thor said stiffly. “Asgard and Vanheim were at war. It was an honorable solution offered to preserve the lives of soldiers on both sides.”

“Hela played with him like a cat with a mouse,” Valkyrie corrected. “She took his pride long before she took his life, in the end he begged for death. Seeing their king brought so low should have crushed the Vanir but Frigga rallied her people, she retreated into the mountains with her remaining fighters. For the next three hundred years, she relentlessly harassed the Aesir armies, never meeting them in open battle but raiding their supply depots, ambushing the small parties sent out to collect ‘taxes’ from the Vanir.”

Thor’s eyes bugged out. Bruce nodded along with Valkyrie’s story, it was nothing he couldn’t have anticipated.

“Frigga inspired the Vanir and Odin’s forces were subject to countless acts of sabotage. They were unified against us, from the warriors hiding in the mountains along with her to the child who’d been forced into the Aesir’s service,” Valkyrie said. “As long as she remained at liberty Vanheim could not truly be considered conquered.”

Thor couldn’t help himself from flinching at the image Valkyrie was bringing to life of the loving parents he’d known as bitter enemies on the opposite sides of a battlefield.

“It was a fucking miserable posting, every soldier in the Aesir army hated it but Odin and Hela never gave up land they’d taken. In the end, they decided that if all the Vanir were against them they’d all be treated as enemy soldiers,” Valkyrie said. “They rounded up as many civilians as they could find and chained them to a line of posts in front of the ruins of the Vanir palace. Odin demanded Frigga surrender herself. When she didn’t show up in the first hour Hela picked one of their prisoners and slit their belly. When that one finally died, Odin repeated his demand and Hela claimed another victim. It took three days and dozen slow executions before Frigga gave herself up. Then Odin issued a new decree, he told the Vanir if they would be his loyal subjects then she would be his queen. If they continued to defy him, she would be the next to die at Hela’s merciless hands… I've spent years in a haze after one disastrous battle against Hela, trying to forget. Sakaar seemed like the best place to drink and forget, and to die one day.”

“Well, I was thinking that you drink too much, and that probably was gonna kill you,” Thor said.

“I don't plan to stop drinking,” Valkyrie clarified.

“Oh.” Thor’s eyes widened. “Oh!”

“But if Frigga has the spirit to oppose Hela again, and FOR the Aesir no less, then how can I do less?” Valkyrie said as she threw open a door. “So if I'm gonna die, well, it may as well be driving my sword through the heart of that murderous hag.”

Inside Loki sat on a small stool, wrapped in chains. “Surprise.”

“I thought you said he persuaded you-” Thor began.

Valkyrie shrugged, “Yeah but he’s an ass.”

“True,” Thor agreed as went to unchain Loki. “What happened to your silver-tongue?”

Loki shrugged, “Nice and persuasive aren’t synonymous. Besides, I was having a bad day, she made it worse.”

“So you shared the misery and she beat you up?” Thor asked.

“I misjudged her reaction,” Loki admitted then dismissed the subject. “Hello, Bruce,” he said.

“Hey,” Bruce replied. “Not to be totally insensitive, but the last time I saw you, you were somewhere between suicidal and trying to kill everybody. Where are you at these days?”

“I’ve become much more selective about who I want to murder,” Loki replied cheerfully. “Myself, my brother and your Avengers no longer make the list. However, having already killed my biological father I’m quite eager to complete the set.”

“You killed your father?”

“He was waging war on Asgard.”

“And this Hela who’s terrorizing Asgard is your mother?” Bruce asked. “Thor, may I reiterate: Your family is messed up.”

Valkyrie snorted. “Truer words have never been spoken.”

Loki nodded, “Odin’s parenting skills improved with practice- I’m crediting Mother’s good influence for his improvements.”

“Our family has been steadily improving in how we relate to one another,” Thor grabbed for the positive.

Loki nodded. “Thor and I only have had, past tense, moments of psychosis or blatant warmongering. Hela’s us, at our worst, one hundred percent of the time, with no desire to be anything other than what she is… And she’s had thousands of years of unending war to hone her skills.”

“And we get to fight her. Joy,” Bruce said.

“So,” Valkyrie said. “Sakaar and Asgard are about as far apart as any two known systems. Our best bet is a wormhole just outside of city limits. Refuel on Xandar, and we can be back in Asgard in eighteen months.”

“You could have told me that!” Loki snapped.

“I didn’t feel like it then,” Valkyrie replied unrepentantly.

“Eighteen months is too long,” Thor disagreed. “Much too long.”

“Best I’ve got,” Valkyrie said.

“No, we need better,” Thor insisted. He turned to Loki, “You walk the uncharted paths between worlds,” he said hopefully.

Loki shook his head. “I don’t know how to get home. This place it’s too strange, too much.”

“How did you find your way to Jotunheim, to Svartalfheim without the Bifrost, with no more than your instincts?” Thor insisted. “You found your way back to Midgard from where you fell. You can do this, Brother. Mother needs you to do this.”

Loki’s shoulders slumped. “I’ll try,” he said. He settled cross-legged near the window.

“Don’t hover!” He snapped at Thor a moment later.

“I’ll just be… over there,” Thor replied with a sheepish smile as he randomly pointed to a different corner.

Bruce wandered over, “So we’re going to jump in a wormhole based on your brother’s intuition?”

“It won’t be the first time,” Thor said. “Well, perhaps not a wormhole. Honestly, I don’t have a clue what Loki’s paths are or how he safely navigates them but he does.”

“Remember the part where I’m a little nervous since the Hulk seems to have figured out how to refuse me control?” Bruce asked. “After all the years I spent looking for the means to lock him away and he’s the one who figures it out!”

“He let you back out when he needed you,” Thor tried to be comforting.

“Yeah,” Bruce said thoughtfully. “So this is what it feels like. Instead of him being on call when I need to fight, I’m on call when he needs to be discreet or explain scientific principles. I gotta say, I don’t like it.”

Loki’s eyes snapped open. “The big one,” he said, pointing.

“The Devil's Anus?” Valkyrie asked.

“It would be,” Thor sighed.

“For the record, I didn't know it was called that when I picked it,” Loki remarked.

“It looks like a collapsing neutron star inside of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge,” Bruce said.

“You know, Jane would do that too,” Thor said. “Insist upon sciency names for everything.”

Loki eyed Bruce thoughtfully. “I wonder how backwards Midgard truly is. Has your science advanced to the point where it is only a language barrier left between us… Although All-Speak should fix that.”

“No,” Thor shook his head. “Healer Eir didn’t realize that Lady Jane’s quantum field generator was merely a different name for a Soul Forge until Jane explained what a quantum field generator did.”

“It’s… weird that she’d need to do that,” Loki replied.

“Well, we are only at a theoretical understanding,” Bruce offered. “Apparently you’ve reached the practical application stage.”

 “Speaking of practical, we need another ship,” Valkyrie said. “That will tear mine to pieces.”

“The Grandmaster has a great many ships,” Loki remarked. “I may even have stolen the access codes to his security system.”


	7. Return to Asgard

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Bruce asked as he, Thor and Valkyrie boarded the ship they’d stolen.

Loki smiled toothily. “Thor and I have decided to go with one of our classic tactics.”

“And that is?” Valkyrie asked frowning.

“I rush heroically,” Thor declared grandly.

“And I show up a bit later, having gathered the resources necessary for success,” Loki added. “Good luck, Brother.”

“I’ll see you soon,” Thor replied.

“You know, I was much more comfortable with the ‘we’re going to trust Loki’s intuition’ plan when Loki was coming with us,” Bruce remarked.

Valkyrie shrugged, “You’re the one who mentioned him being suicidal, I wasn’t taking much reassurance from having him along for the ride.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Bruce agreed. “Loki coming with us doesn’t actually make it any more likely we’ll come out alive on the other side.”

Thor slapped Bruce on the shoulder. “Stop being a- what do you humans say? A worry-wart Banner. I’m going with you!”

Bruce looked from Thor to Loki, taking in the way the brothers were grinning at each other. “You know, strangely, that works for me,” he said.

* * *

Hela stalked through Asgard’s empty streets, Fenrir dogging her heels. There wasn’t a single soul left to give her a lead on where Frigga, the remnants of the Asgardian army and the remaining refugees were hiding. “Well, at least I know the Vanir witch remembers me,” Hela muttered as she paused to rub the raw stump of the arm Odin had torn from her in his last stand. Fenrir whined sympathetically.

With a last disgruntled glare at the emptied city Hela stalked back to the ruins of the palace. Her army of the dead stood among the ruins like gargoyles. Hela ignored them. She stomped past the stairs to the Vault where she’d been making her home since conquering Asgard and headed further into the palace. “Dig there,” she directed Fenrir and in a few moments the stairs to Asgard’s dungeon had been unearthed. “Good boy,” she said reaching up to scratch Fenrir behind the ears. “Shall we see if anyone useful was left behind?” 

A good quarter of the dungeon had collapsed when the Palace fell, killing the prisoners contained in that area instantly. Several of the cells had been breached, their freed occupants and those prisoners who were still caged eyed Hela warily as she descended. They all looked worse for wear after nearly a week trapped beneath the collapsed palace. 

“Asgard’s castoffs,” Hela greeted them. “You are being given the opportunity to swear to me… Or die. I’m not picky.” 

The prisoners traded glances among themselves. Slowly, one by one they knelt before Hela until only one man remained standing and defiant. 

Hela strolled through the ranks of her new subjects to stand outside of the man’s cell. “The Watcher of Worlds, my how you’ve fallen,” she said.

“Not so low as you, Executioner of Asgard,” Heimdall replied.

“Will you kneel for me?” Hela asked. “I will see the glory Odin stripped you of restored to you.”

“There had been many things, over the centuries, that Odin and I did not see eye to eye on,” Heimdall replied. “Foremost among them was his choice to bring your offspring among us… As if Jotunn blood could do anything but magnify the flaws in your make-up. I saw you in him from the moment Odin brought him home.”

“Always so flattering,” Hela said sarcastically. She materialized her sword in her hand. “Let’s keep this short: You can either tell me where the witch is hiding or I’ll rip your lovely, unique eyes out of your skull and look for myself- Metaphorically, of course. Literally ripping your eyes out would ruin them.”

“You can try,” Heimdall said.

“Why are you loyal to her, to them?” Hela demanded. “Look at you! You’ve been thrown away, abandoned. You should be the first to jump at joining my cause!”

“Thrown away? Like you were?” Heimdall asked. 

Hela’s lips drew back in a furious snarl.

“I watched you in your captivity,” he said. “Watched you honing your abilities and your hate without end. All those years locked away, sharpening yourself against the bars of your prison as if they were a whetting stone. Do you think I want to be anything like you? When I am here because I refused to kneel to your son? I am loyal to Asgard, not to the crown.” 

Heimdall stepped back from the wall of his cell and dropped into a fighting stance. “If you want my eyes, you’ll have a fight to take them.”

“Fine,” Hela huffed. She raised her sword and brought down the force fields hold Heimdall prisoner. 

Despite Heimdall mercilessly targeting the openings Hela’s missing arm left in her defenses it wasn’t long before he was driven to his knees. 

Hela stood behind him, blood ran down his face where her nails dug into his scalp as she used her magic to force her way into his mind. Through his eyes she looked across Asgard, searching for Frigga. 

Heimdall laughed as all she saw was fog. “Did you think the Queen trusted me Demoness? She clouded my sight years ago.” He twisted on his knees, thrusting a small, crude knife into Hela’s side.

She snapped his neck and let the body fall. “Why are you all against me?” she asked the corpse.

* * *

Thor landed the Grandmaster’s orgy ship in the rough lands where Asgard fell away into nothing. From there they hiked into the mountains following the directions Loki had relayed before they left Sakaar until they stood before a massive door set into the face of a cliff. “So what do we do?” Bruce asked. “Knock?”

Thor shook his head. The doors cracked open. “Mother always knew when I’d come home,” he said, striding forward confidently. 

Then the doors opened a bit wider and Frigga beckoned them in. Thor’s steps faltered. The shimmering floor, length gowns and elaborate crown of curls that he was accustomed to seeing his Mother in had been replaced with armor and a single, thick utilitarian braid. For a moment she looked like an entirely different person to Thor’s eyes and then she smiled, “Thor.” 

“Mother,” Thor lifted her off the ground in a bone-crushing hug. “I thought- I was afraid- You’re here, you’re safe.” He hesitated then asked. “Is Father?”

Frigga shook her head. 

Thor resolutely didn’t ask more. He assumed an air of formality as he gestured to his companions. “Mother, may I present Banner of Midgard and the Valkyrie- um.”

“Brunnhilde, your majesty,” Valkyrie said, turning an aborted curtsey into an awkward bow as the manners she’d abandoned centuries ago struggled to the fore. “I’m at your service.” 

“Thank you,” Frigga said. “And you, Dr. Banner.”

“Are you blushing?” Bruce whispered to Valkyrie as Frigga turned back to Thor. 

She punched him in the arm. “Anyone who would go to war against Hela a second time deserves all the respect in the Nine Realms,” she hissed.

“Loki is following with reinforcements,” Thor said. “Whomever he can recruit.”

Frigga nodded. “We need to finish the evacuation and prevent Hela from following. If she wants Asgard so badly it can be her new prison. We’ll need to destroy the Observatory and reclaim the Tesseract to trap her here. All our space-worthy ships have already been sent out during the initial evacuation.” 

She drew the Bifrost Sword and passed it to Valkyrie, “I’m entrusting you with the evacuation.”

“I won’t let you down,” Valkyrie swore.

“Dr. Banner, could you assist her?” Frigga asked.

“Yes ma’am.”

“At all cost, you must not allow the Bifrost Sword to fall into Hela’s hands,” Frigga cautioned them. “Thor-”

“I shall draw Hela out,” Thor said. “While you retrieve the Tesseract.”

“Be careful,” Frigga said. “Send your brother to me when he arrives. When the evacuation is done, you must destroy the Observatory completely. Given time, I’m afraid she find a way to activate it even without the sword. Then take your ship and flee.”

“How will you and Loki escape?” Thor asked. 

Frigga patted Thor’s arm, “We’ll have the Tesseract.” She smiled, “Between the two of us we’ll manage. Now, let us begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally got around to Heimdall. 
> 
> I’m just going to ignore the whole thing were Hela’s so insanely powerful because she draws her powers from Asgard. Even if I go with Thor is incredibly inexperienced and that’s why his power-up in “Ragnarok” doesn’t even bring him into Hela’s weight class I’ve still got problems with it. 
> 
> The movie presents the duality of Asgard as a place and Asgard as a people. Hela’s ready to kill every last Aesir to get the Bifrost Sword and she does kill a pretty sizable fraction of the population with no drop in her powers. So that would seem to imply that Hela draws her power from the place Asgard. But Thor’s still got his power-up in Infinity War even though the place Asgard has been destroyed. So are they drawing their power from Asgard the place or Agard the people (Or are there no real rules and they’re as powerful as the story requires them to be with power levels that will change in the next story to fit that story’s needs)?


	8. Ragnarok

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruce going splat on the Rainbow Bridge is probably my least favorite scene in “Ragnarok”... But I’m keeping it because Hulk has something to say. Marvel’s practically promised that the Hulk-Bruce situation is going somewhere, maybe the resolution will make that unfunny prat-fall worthwhile but that’s not a reason not to speculate.

After arming the orgy-ship with a jury-rigged gatling-gun Valkyrie and Bruce flew above the line of Asgard’s soldiers and citizens providing them with cover as they made their way to the Bifrost. 

While Thor battled Hela in the ruins of the palace Fenrir along with Hela’s army of the risen dead caught the refugees as they made their way across the Rainbow Bridge. 

“The stupid dog won't die!” Valkyrie cried as she futilely fired hundreds of rounds at the giant wolf. 

Bruce looked at the helpless crowd of civilians cornered on the bridge. He remembered his fear that if he became the Hulk again the behemoth might never give up control to him again. He looked at the terrified people again and made his choice. “Everything's gonna be all right now. I got this,” he said. He turned on the autopilot and went back to the open door where Valkyrie was manning the gun. “You wanted to know who I am?” he said.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Valkyrie asked.

“You'll see!” Bruce said and threw himself out of the ship. He landed on the Bifrost with a sickening splat. 

Distantly, through the pain, Bruce felt Fenrir pause to nose at his broken body. A deep voice rumbled in his brain, “Puny Banner no order Hulk!”

As his vision darkened Bruce saw Fenrir step over his body to resume his attack on Asgard’s helpless citizens. “I’m sorry,” Bruce thought back at the other. “I get it, I wouldn’t- don’t like it either. I don’t like being treated like nothing but a tool to be used and that is how I treated you. You’ve got a right to be mad at me. But don’t let them die because I haven’t treated you right.”

* * *

“Thor said you needed me, Mother?” Loki asked as he jogged into the vaults. He paused as he walked by Surtur’s crown.

Frigga picked up the Tesseract. “Alone, I have no idea where this would throw me,” she said. “And that might be for the best but I’m not ready to leave you and your brother.”

“Good,” Loki replied feverently. He glanced back at Surtur’s crown, “But you should know, Asgard won’t hold Hela. She can walk the paths as I can. Thor thinks I should start Ragnarok… And, for once, I don’t have a better plan. I’m hoping you do?”

“She can-” Frigga raised a hand to rub at her temple leaving a smear of ash behinded. “Of course she can.” She closed her eyes. “Do it but you’ll have to leave without me.”

“What!?” Loki exclaimed.

“One of them will win,” Frigga said. “Hopefully the fight will be close… Close enough for me to finish it.”

“Mother, you can’t expect me-”

“Someone has to take the Tesseract from this place,” Frigga said. “You’ve handled it’s power before, you have a better chance-”

“Trying to lie to me? You taught me everything I know,” Loki grinned toothily. “Not everything you know. If someone has to stay-” 

“You’re my son,” Frigga said. 

“What sort of son would I be if I left?” Loki demanded. “Besides, if someone is going to kill my biological mother-”

“Then it should be me,” Frigga stated. “My quarrel with my step-daughter proceed your birth by more than a thousand years… I have dibs.”

“Mother!”

“Go,” Frigga said. “I’m not discussing this. This is your Queen and your Mother speaking. You will obey me Loki. Take the Tesseract and leave.”

Loki’s shoulders slumped. “As you wish, Mother.” He lowered Surtur’s crown into the Eternal Flame.

* * *

While the the gladiators Loki had recruited helped Asgard’s surviving soldiers get the civilian refugees aboard the Sakaarian freighter Hulk battled Fenrir and Thor fought alongside Valkyrie to hold Hela at bay. 

Gradually the Hulk gained the upper hand in his battle but it was all Thor and Valkyrie could do to stay alive. Eventually, inevitably, Hela took Valkyrie down and raised her sword to deliver the finishing blow. “Hela, enough!” Thor cried. “You want Asgard, it's yours.”

“Whatever game you're playing, it won't work,” Hela sneered. “You can't defeat me.”

“No, I know,” Thor said. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to the fiery giant, larger even than a Jotunn, smashing everything in his path as he stormed out of the palace. “But he can.” 

“No!” Hela exclaimed as she raced past Thor to confront Surtur.

Thor offered Valkyrie a hand up. He frowned a bit as he eyed Surtur. “He said he’d be the size of a mountain.”

“A lot of guys say they’re bigger than they are,” Valkyrie replied with a shrug. 

After a bit of persuasion the Hulk carted the two of them up to the escaping spacecraft while Hela and Surtur had it out. 

As the two of them fought, the enchantments that preserved the chunk of planet that was Asgard began to unravel. The sea-levels sank and atmosphere began to strip away, planetoid’s gravity insufficient to hold them unaided.

* * *

Frigga sheltered in a doorway as a fierce solar wind scoured Asgard’s surface, aging the grand city to ruins in a matter of hours. She tried to stay close enough to Hela and Surtur’s battle to be sure that she wouldn’t be separated from them as chunks planetoid ripped free and floated away but still to stay hidden from them.

The battle lasted hours but ended in a minute. Both combatants were bloodied and tiring. Hela ducked under Surtur’s sword, she stumbled and fell. Surtur grinned triumphantly as he swung his massive sword up for the killing blow… And in his exhaustion he staggered at the weight of it. Hela rallied her strength and lunged, summoning a sword into her hand as she did. She drove it through Surtur’s neck then wrenched it to the side, all but decapitating him. 

Blood dripped from her teeth as she stood over her defeated foe. Then Hela turned to survey the kingdom she’d conquered. She blinked in shocked disbelief as saw Asgard: The ruins of the city. The vegetation burning in the thinned atmosphere. The dried seas as the waters ran over the edge and were not captured and returned to fall again. The very mountains beginning to crumble. 

As Hela stared at the consequences of her conquest in shock a crossbow-bolt struck her in the back. She groped for the bolt as she searched for the archer.

Frigga stepped out of hiding. She smoothly reloaded the bow. When Hela turned toward her, Frigga fired again. 

Hela caught the bolt as it sank into her eye, stopping it before it could pierce her brain. “Now we all match,” she laughed bitterly. “Come to finish me off witch?”

Frigga reloaded the crossbow but didn’t fire. “I have,” she admitted.

“Your final victory,” Hela said. “After you took everything else from me.”

“How you’ve fallen,” Frigga said. “To ask your victims for pity. You chose to remain an avatar of death and chaos, that is on you. We all have choices, sometimes the right ones are not easy. I could have chosen to spend the rest of my life as Odin’s hostage, hating him what he did to my people to me. Instead I made the best of it, I chose to see the good in Odin wherever I could. Once I started looking there was more than I ever expected to find. And, in time, what was nurtured grew.”

“You stole my father from me, turned him against me in favor of your brat,” Hela accused.

“You could have chosen to change to become something better than you were. Odin chose to change, your father would have supported you had you done the same.” 

“You changed him. You made him my enemy. You made him less than he was. I should have killed you back then, the very day you surrendered to us,” Hela said sourly. She yanked the crossbow bolt out of her back. “But better late than never,” she said as she threw it at Frigga, who also fired.

Frigga’s bolt struck true, passing through Hela’s ruined eye, into her brain. Hela’s bounced off a sparkling green shield.

“I thought I told you to leave,” Frigga called.

“But when was I ever an obedient son?” Loki asked as he let the illusion of invisibility fall away. He glanced at his biological mother’s body then turned away and held out the Tesseract to Frigga. “Shall we go?”

Frigga took a moment to look out over Asgard’s ruins. “This wasn’t my home,” she said. “But I grew to love it.”

“It was the only home I ever knew but it was never truly mine,” Loki replied. “Somehow, I still think I’ll miss it.”

Frigga reached out and put her hand on the Tesseract. “Thor will have begun to worry,” she said. Loki nodded. 

In flash the spot where they stood was empty. All of Asgard was left empty, and crumbling.


End file.
